Libya’s central bank (CBL) has resumed operations following the release of a bank official who had been abducted from his home. The CBL confirmed that Musaab Msallem, head of the bank’s information technology department, was taken on Sunday by an “unidentified party” from the capital, Tripoli. Other bank employees had also faced kidnapping threats.
The CBL had suspended all activities, refusing to reopen until Mr. Msallem was safely returned. In a brief statement on Monday afternoon, the bank announced it was back to normal operations after Mr. Msallem was released and declared “safe.”
The central bank, which is independent but state-owned, is the sole internationally recognized depository for Libyan oil revenues, a crucial economic resource for a country long divided between rival governments in Tripoli and Benghazi.
Msallem’s abduction follows an incident a week earlier when the central bank was besieged by armed men, according to AFP news agency. Local media reports cited by AFP indicated that the armed men sought to force the resignation of the bank’s governor, Seddik al-Kabir. Mr. Kabir, who has been in office since 2012, has faced criticism over the management of oil revenues and the state budget.
On Monday, Mr. Kabir met with British ambassador to Libya, Martin Longden, to discuss “the increasing threats to the security and safety of the central bank, its employees, and its systems,” according to a CBL statement.
Since the ousting and killing of Libyan leader Muammar Gaddafi in 2011, Libya has endured chronic insecurity. The country remains divided by power struggles, with two governments: a UN-recognized one in Tripoli and another in the east, backed by warlord General Khalifa Haftar.
